Affordability tightens as home sales drop

The median price for all homes sold in the Bay Area in March 2018 advanced to $820,000, another new record in a still-sizzling housing market.

August sales of Bay Area homes dropped more than 10 percent from July, but were up nearly 5 percent from a year ago, data from research firm CoreLogic shows.

Sales of new and existing condominiums and homes in the nine-county Bay Area totaled 8,062 in August, down from 9,130 in July, but up from 7,718 in August 2014, according to CoreLogic.

The year-over-year gain in August was the smallest increase since sales started to rise in March, CoreLogic officials said.

CoreLogic research analyst Andrew LePage said in a statement:

“In August the housing market couldn’t maintain the higher sales pace of June and July when activity rose to nine- and ten-year highs, respectively. … August experienced only a two-year high for sales.”

August home prices in the Bay Area dropped slightly from July, but were more than 5 percent above August 2014 prices, CoreLogic data show.

The August median price of $650,000 is only 2.3 percent below the peak of $665,000 in June and July 2007, but up 6.2 percent year-over-year from $612,000, data show.

LePage said in a statement:

“The slowdown in sales likely reflects a tighter inventory of homes for sale and an even lower level of affordability. … But one month doesn’t make a trend, and this year’s three summer months combined – June, July and August – represent the highest sales for that period since 2006.”

CoreLogic defines the Bay Area as the counties of Marin, San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, Sonoma, Santa Clara, San Mateo and Napa.